WBAL TV

The Senate’s bill to map out the legalization of recreational marijuana in Maryland differs greatly from the House proposal over taxes.

Legislation making recreational cannabis legal in Maryland still has a long way to go in a relatively short period of time. And, changes made by the Senate Finance Committee could set up a showdown between the House and Senate.

But legislative leaders put an optimistic spin on the changes, calling the differences minor and will be easy to resolve.

“This is one of those bills that everyone has just one more idea. So, the faster we can get to a place of resolution, I think will be better for everyone,” said Senate President Bill Ferguson, D-District 46.

Early this month, the House gave preliminary approval to House Bill 556, which would tax and regulate marijuana.

Under the Senate version, Senate Bill 516, it would cost Marylanders more to recreational marijuana use. The sales tax would go up from 6% to a 9% flat tax, and local governments would be allowed to tack on an additional 3% sales tax.

“While it’s not perfect, I think it offers enough good points for us to be able to move the bill forward,” said Sen. Clarence Lam, D-District 12, whose district encompasses portions of Anne Arundel and Howard counties.

Under the House bill, cannabis would be taxed at 6% for the first year and increase by 1% each year until 2018. It would be capped at 10%.

The Senate bill would still allow people to possess up to 1.5 ounces of cannabis, and current medical cannabis businesses would be allowed to convert their licenses to recreational before July 1.

Read more at 

https://www.wbaltv.com/article/senate-recreational-cannabis-bill-taxes-maryland/43440132

If this Bill were to pass, it would have a major impact on those who not only use cannabis recreationally but also impact the business owners and employees of Montana’s dispensaries. Zack Schopp, owner of Seed of Life Labs in Billings said the ripple effects of a law like this — would go beyond the marijuana industry.

“It’s detrimental to the business, to the employees of those businesses, to those government regulators who are employed, to the contractors of the building, to the real estate agents that are selling property. All of that economic opportunity that’s been created from cannabis is at stake with a Bill like that, there are over 5,000 Montanans who have jobs in the cannabis industry here, you know, what am I supposed to say to them if this goes through,” said Schopp 

Via Cannabis Industry Jnl – very intreresting development as and when Murphy signs off on it

The New Jersey legislature recently approved legislation that would allow licensed cannabis businesses to deduct ordinary business expenses on their state tax return that they are prohibited from deducting on their federal tax return, and such legislation has been sent to Governor Phil Murphy to potentially sign into law. This relates to the universally dreaded (among those in the cannabis industry, at least) Section 280E prohibition. This legislation is important because it would change current law to allow legal cannabis businesses in New Jersey to operate on more of a level playing field with other businesses in the state.

Cannabis operators and applicants are penalized by their inability to deduct certain expenses on their state and federal tax returns. The cause for this frustration is twofold. First, under federal law, cannabis is considered a Schedule I controlled substance under the Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S.C. § 801 (CSA). Second, under IRS Tax Code Section 280E, cannabis businesses that are legal under state law are still considered drug traffickers for the purposes of federal tax law. While a related issue that is often considered along with Section 280E is whether or not it is sound public policy to continue to classify cannabis as a Schedule 1 drug, that is beyond the scope of this article.

While New Jersey’s legislators can’t change federal tax code, they are taking action to revise New Jersey’s tax code to level the playing field. Let’s hope the Governor signs into law the pending New Jersey legislation to decouple New Jersey’s tax law from Section 280E.

Read more at  https://cannabisindustryjournal.com/feature_article/new-jersey-moves-to-remove-states-280e-tax-code/